Gods of the Underworld
by nicole-envious
Summary: Zaeed asks for Shepard's help in finding a missing woman from his past. Zaeed, Shepard, and Garrus travel to Earth to find her. Ch. 9 - Shepard meets an old acquaintance in Tokyo, as the team continues their search for Exia.
1. No Messages

Zaeed opened up his Inbox for the tenth time that day. No messages. He began to feel the beginnings of dread take hold in his stomach. He quickly switched to the messages he sent. His eyes flicked from side to side as he read what he wrote. "Nothing in there says, 'don't respond' ". He found himself talking out loud instead of keeping his thoughts firmly in his mind. Zaeed huffed and stormed his way to the elevator.

* * *

"Shepard, Zaeed is requesting permission to enter your quarters" EDI blipped, almost as soon as she heard Zaeed knocking on the door. She grabbed a bathrobe off the wall and put it over the shorts and tanktop she was wearing.

"EDI what time is it?"

"2330 hours" Shepard groaned inside. _What would that man want at this hour? It better be good, she was about to go to bed._ She went and unlocked the door. EDI chimed again.

"Shepard, it is well within my capacity to unlock doors for you" Shepard detected a hint of irritation within the AI's voice.

"It is also well within mine, _EDI_. I believe in personally letting people in. No matter how advanced our society gets, I will always get up and open the door for somebody if they want to see me." EDI blipped away. As she arugued with EDI, Shepard felt Zaeed come into the room and wait agitatedly.

"So Zaeed, is there a reason you want to see me so late, or are you just trying to annoy me?" Shepard hoped that the smirk on her face would tell that she was joking.

"Shepard, you told us that you would always be open for any concerns your crew had. If I don't fit in that category, then just say the word and I'll get out of your hair." Something was really bothering him.

"I was just joking Zaeed. What is it?" Zaeed looked at her and she could see the anxiety etched across his face. It made him look much older.

"Remember when I told you about that 8 year old girl?" Shepard nodded and Zaeed continued.

"I didn't tell you all of it. While she was hitchhiking with us, some of the men tried to take advantage of her. Some of them were aliens, some of them were human. Seein' that the captain wasn't doing anything to stop it, I did. It's bloody sad that our species so easily loses what makes us different from the goddamn monkeys..." His eyes glazed over obviously lost in a distant time. Shepard spoke softly.

"What did you do?" Zaeed snapped back to reality and continued.

"...Half the men wound up dead on the spot. The other half were locked up in the airlock awaitin' captain's orders. After that the girl wouldn't leave my side. She swore herself to me. She took a knife from me and cut her hand before I grabbed it back. I have never seen a more serious and adult 8 year old. I knew I couldn't change her mind so I went along with it, thinking she would forget. She never did..." Shepard saw that this girl meant the world to Zaeed. It was something that Shepard might never understand. Zaeed continued in his gruff demeanor.

"Well, I dropped her off on Omega and got a place set up for her at an orphanage. I found some people to take care of her. You know makin' sure that she got food and that she wasn't adopted. I didn't think anybody would understand why she acted the way she did. I didn't even understand her at times. When she wanted a job, I got her a job working for Aria. She was 10..." Shepard gave Zaeed a sharp look.

"It's not what you think. She sat in a security office all day and monitored who came in and out of Omega's main ports. I heard she was damn good at it too. Every week I would get a letter from her. We have been cooresponding like this for the past 10 years. This week I didn't get one from her… Shepard I need to find out what's happened to her." Shepard watched as the tough veteran, who burned the leader of the Blue Suns alive, turn into a… she didn't know what. But it was scary. She had never seen a man act like this in front of her.

"Zaeed, are you sure that she didn't forget--" As soon as the words were out of her mouth she wished they had never been spoken.

"What, you think that after 10 years of writing every week, she would just stop responding to my letters! Maybe you don't understand what it means to swear yourself to someone, but you don't do it lightly." The patronizing tone, felt like a slap across the face.

"Okay fine. But how do you know she isn't being held for money or is part of an extortion deal by the Blue Suns. Would one of the people that you put in jail want to get back at you?" Shepard could tell that the thought had already crossed his mind. He looked down and was in deep thought.

"I don't think that's the case. I taught her alot about how to survive in those few weeks that we travelled together." Shepard knew if they didn't investigate, Zaeed might very well leave the crew. She needed him there. He was one of the few soldiers experienced in large scale warfare.

"Okay Zaeed, we'll check it out. Where is she?"

"She was on Earth last time she wrote." Shepard felt sick, she knew why Zaeed was so upset. There were a lot of worse things than death that could happen to an 18 year old girl on Earth. It was just the same as Omega. Zaeed saw the look of grief on Shepard's face and understood that she was thinking what he was.

"The only good news about that is she will still be on Earth." After having grown up in the slums Shepard knew how the underworld worked. It was more profitable to keep people on the same planet than selling them to batarian slavers.

"Once we get done with our business here, we will go to Earth." Zaeed started to walk out the door.

"And Zaeed, its only going to take a couple of hours at most. We'll get there soon, you have my word." Zaeed stopped to listen to her and continued walking.


	2. Fame and Beauty

__

Exia was swimming naked in the turquoise waters of the pacific. There were millions of brilliantly colored fish swimming with her. She looked around and saw that she was swimming in the air, there were mountains and trees beneath her. The brilliantly colored fish were still with her, swimming peacefully. As she looked around she noticed a man beneath her. She sank through the air to greet him. When her toes touched the ground, she smiled and nodded at him graciously. He remained silent. The only difference in his demeanor was that he was now sporting a large smile. It was a little too large and the teeth were a little too long. Exia brushed this off understanding that everyone is different. Still it bothered her. She gestured with her hand for him to walk a little with her. He stayed rooted to the spot. Still silent. His smile was bigger than previous and his teeth looked still longer. She looked at him quizzically as he pulled out a long blade. It was serrated and rusty. Her eyes widened but she did not scream. He looked at her with a lustful expression and advanced towards her. She tried to kick off the ground, but only managed to fall onto her back. He stepped over her and positioned the blade at her stomach. He stabbed. He brought the blade out and stabbed again and again and again. Each time he stabbed, Exia felt pain ricochet through her body. She tried to scream in pain, thinking it would somehow lessen it. No sound escaped her lips. The man took the blade and positioned it above her face. Blood trickled off the metal and dripped onto her face. He plunged.

Exia awoke to a fist coming in straight for her jaw. She tried to jerk away but realized she couldn't move. An oppressive weight was lying on top of her. Pain seared through her face. Lights exploded behind her eyelids. Blackness.

* * *

Zaeed grunted as he slapped the parts of his gun back together again. He didn't need to do it as violently as he was, the gun was made so that it was easy to take apart and put together. He was agitated. Jack had made a comment about him getting to be an old softie. He had responded by telling her she was acting like a stuck up bitch. She didn't take it very well, not very well at all. His jaw still smarted from the biotic punch. He had decided to be the better person and walk away. Right now he felt like going down to her quarters and finishing the fight. He was almost out the door when EDI blipped to life.

"Shepard has requested you meet her in the debriefing room." _Fuckin' typical_.

"Yeah, tell 'er I'm on my way." Instead of walking down to Jack and teaching her a lesson or two (even though it was still very tempting), Zaeed trudged to the elevator and hit level 2. He was dreading that Shepard was going to say, 'I'm sorry Zaeed. We can't get to Earth, stopping the Collector's takes priority." What a load of horseshit that would be. They spent 3 days on some sort of geological hunt, he was pretty sure that wasn't on the agenda for stopping the Collector's. The elevator door opened and he walked out. Kelly greeted him with a smile. _What a prissy whore, I doubt she knows how to use a gun._

"Hello Zaeed! Shepard--" Zaeed interuppted her with growling,

"Yeah, I know. Debriefing room." He was pleased that her smile vanished, if only for a second. Zaeed entered the room and Shepard jumped from her sitting position on the table.

"Zaeed, we are on our way to Earth. ETA 2 hours. We are going on a three-manned mission as usual. Me, you and I don't know who else. I think that either Grunt or Garrus should go with us. What do you think?" Zaeed knew why she would want Grunt or Garrus, intimidation. Thane was too aloof from others. Samara was too womanly...she wouldn't be taken seriously. And a human isn't as intimidating as a turian or krogan.

"Well Grunt's goddamn big, but he isn't very tactical when it comes to torturing people. I think Garrus is the best choice Shepard." Shepard nodded in agreement.

"EDI, tell Garrus to come to the debriefing room."

"Very well Shepard." EDI blipped away. Zaeed turned his eyes to Shepard's face as he tried to read her emotions. It was an emotion he wasn't used to seeing. Anxiety. He opened his mouth to say something, but the doors opened revealing Garrus.

"Shepard you wanted to see me?" Zaeed watched as the turian's mandibles twitched and noticed a hint of surprise on his face. He obviously didn't expect Zaeed to be there.

"Garrus, we are en route to Earth. There is a young woman that has gone missing and it's imperative that we find her." Zaeed was surprised at Shepard's discretion in the matter. Then again she had been an Alliance soldier for most of her life.

"Alright Shepard. I'll be in the forward battery, as usual. Just let me know when we are close."

"Dismissed." Shepard's eyes followed Garrus as he left the room and then snapped back to Zaeed's.

"If you don't mind me askin' how exactly do you plan to get past the Alliance, in a Cerberus vessel?" Shepard smirked.

"Well, let's just say that Joker and I are well connected. A shuttle is meeting us on Mars and is going to take us in from there. You and Garrus will also be given different identities, to get through customs. In return, we have to do some other minor tasks. After we get done finding the girl." Zaeed chuckled.

"You surprise me, Shepard. Sounds like criminal work to me."

"Hey, we're aboard a terrorist funded vessel. That means I can work outside the law. It's part of the job description."

"Whatever you say Shepard." Still smiling he left the room to finish cleaning his guns and get some food.

* * *

Everything had gone according to plan so far. They were aboard a shuttle called _The Bergliot_. As they sat there in silence, Zaeed watched Earth loom into view. He had forgotten how beautiful it looked from far away. As they came closer he could see all of the North American continent, it was completely lit up with a grid of lights.

"She's a goddamn beauty." Zaeed whistled at the view. Shepard nodded in agreement and Garrus leaned in for a closer look asking,

"So what are we planning on?"

"The woman went missing a couple days ago. We think that she was kidnapped by gangs." Garrus nodded, remembering that Earth's gangs were as bad as they are on Omega.

"Do we know who took her?" Sighing Zaeed replied,

"Nope. Haven't the foggiest. We are going in quick and quiet. I...We don't want to draw attention to the fact that we're looking for her." By now Garrus had figured that Zaeed knew the girl and she meant a great deal to him.

The shuttle had now landed at a spaceport and a Custom's Official was approaching with a handful of guards.

"Papers, please. Commander Shepard! What an honor to meet you! I thought you died... nevermind, nevermind. Step right through, your clear to go." The Official stepped aside, bowing slightly to Shepard. Zaeed raised an eyebrow at Shepard.

"Fame has its price, eh?" Shepard shrugged and smiled.

* * *

It had been 25 years since Zaeed had watched Earth disappear from view. Being back was a shock. Simply put, London had changed, drastically. They walked down to the taxi queue, so they could visit the Enterprise RTU Rental Center.

"Ho_ly_ Shit." Shepard's mouth dropped. They were facing a building that was painted with a 200 meter tall Shepard, staring off into the distance with a shotgun in hand. In the background was a picture of Sovereign, destroyed and burning. Above her head was written: R.I.P COMMANDER SHEPARD. FIRST HUMAN SPECTRE, SAVIOUR OF THE GALAXY, LEGEND. WE LOVE YOU.

"I guess you have a lot of fans..." Zaeed uttered another low whistle. Garrus put a friendly hand on Shepard's shoulder. Zaeed hadn't realized it, but Shepard had tears running down her face.

"Come on girl, let's get a taxi."

The three of them walked silently, with Shepard in the center. It was comforting to Zaeed to know that she was human and still had emotions, just like the rest of us. Zaeed hailed a cab and directed the driver to the rental center.

Zaeed was able to focus his thoughts back onto Exia. It had been too long since he last saw her, would he even recognize her? Then Zaeed remembered the holo she had sent in a PM, he had had it printed (professionally) and kept it with his credit chit. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at it. She had changed a lot from when he last saw her in person. She had grown up and matured into a young woman. Zaeed smiled at no one in particular and put the holo back in his pocket. _Goddamn beautiful..._

AN: Please review... I feel that this story needs to be told the right way.


	3. Torture

_AN: Sorry it took so long to post another chapter. Hope you enjoy it!_

* * *

Exia awoke in shackles, her body felt completely numb. Even with her eyes open all she could see were blurred shapes, floating in and out of sight. All she could hear was the clanking of the metal binding her wrists and undistinguishable voices. She could smell blood and the sweet smell of cigarette smoke. Then suddenly a hand grabbed her neck and forced her head against the wall. The owner of the hand was yelling something but she couldn't understand him. He paused as if expecting an answer to a question, she had no answer. She remained mute. The back of a hand came into vision and smarted across her mouth. She tasted blood. She still remained mute. If there was anything that she learned from her life's experiences, it was to stay consistent and not back down. The hand around her throat started to close tighter. She struggled against her bonds trying to remove his hand. Her vision narrowed and she felt her lungs burn and her throat crush in on itself. She then became vaguely aware of another voice yelling and shouting. The hand that was closed around her throat was ripped off and she collapsed to the ground. Oxygen had never tasted sweeter, it felt like water rushing over fire. She heard herself gasping for air, she started coughing. The adrenaline ran through her system causing all the sensory details to register tenfold. She quickly looked around her taking in the sight of where she was being kept. She was underground, the walls and floor were stone. The door was metal. There were five men in the room. Two were big, three were slight. There was one overhead lamp, providing the only light for the room. There was one table and one chair. They were speaking... she listened closer. They were speaking German.

_"Wasser, bitte..." Immediately one of the men turned towards her. He took a bowl, filled it with a clear liquid, spit in it, and threw it down in front of her. Most of the liquid splashed out. She didn't expect anything and she certainly didn't expect water. So she wasn't surprised when the liquid burned its way down her throat into her stomach. She grimaced and shook her head. She turned the bowl over and spilled its contents across the floor. She didn't want to dehydrate herself. No matter how tempting it was to be drunk and not feel the pain._

_She passed out again to the sound of the germans laughing. _

* * *

Zaeed looked around the meager apartment. It had two beds and a cot. They had rented the apartment for a week, Zaeed didn't plan to stay that long. However, Shepard said that they might need it again that same week. She did have a point. He took off the guns and hard cases that he carried with him. He tossed them on the floor and then sat down on the cot. He watched Garrus meticulously place his things on the table and Shepard haphazardly throw her things on the bed. She turned to him,

"Do you have a plan?"Zaeed leaned his head back to rest on the wall and looked at the ceiling.

"I know she worked at this club, I don't know if she was a dancer or a bartender. She was never very descriptive about her work..." Shepard sighed and fell on the bed.

"What club? Maybe she had friends there?"

"Underground. I know where it is and we should probably head there anyway, her employer might know what happened." Zaeed got off the cot and grabbed his guns again. Pistol in holster, assault rifle on back, sniper rifle beside it. Grenades on belt. He checked himself and then waited for the others to get ready.

Garrus hadn't gotten comfortable, and so was ready almost as soon Zaeed was. Shepard however was still grabbing her things and putting them back on. She walked to the door.

"Hey, you gonna take your pistol?" Zaeed called after her.

"Aw, shit! I always forget this piece of scrap." Shepard ran back to the bed and grabbed it. They all went out the door. Garrus ducking through the doorway.

"Why couldn't we go someplace where there are lots of elcor? I _always_ have to duck through doorways. It puts stress on the muscles used for sniping you know!" Shepard laughed. They made their way to the roof parking lot and got in the red rental car. Shepard always insisted that they get a red car. Zaeed had protested, saying that it was more noticable but it didn't matter. Garrus had just shrugged at Zaeed.

Zaeed drove to the club, he knew it well. It was a club he used to frequent often in his younger days. There was good booze and always some girl for him to take home. It was one of the better clubs in the district, on a Friday and Saturday night it would see close to 100,000 people. They parked a block away and walked to the club. Zaeed turned to Garrus and Shepard,

"If I remember correctly Blue Suns get in free... so just follow my lead" Sure enough as they walked to the bouncer, Zaeed showed his neck and arm tattoos and the bouncer nervously let them enter. On the private comm channel Shepard said,

"Those tattoos seem to have an effect on people. How many women have fallen for the tough guy act?" Zaeed snorted,

"None of your goddamned business." Zaeed stopped to look around, the club had definitely upgraded from the last time he had been here. Holo-vids displayed the strippers dancing, the dancefloor was a sheet of glass over an indoor pool. Some of the patrons were taking their clothes off and jumping into the pool in a different part of the club. More holo-vids displayed the FIFA world cup tournaments. There was a large crowd surrounding the holos yelling and shouting. No doubt a bunch had already lost a large sum of money. Zaeed spotted the bar as soon as Shepard pushed past him and walked briskly to the counter.

"She always finds an excuse doesn't she..." Garrus's voice sounded alien among the din of human noise. Zaeed grinned and walked to the counter as well. He noticed that there weren't asari strippers, as is custom for any club outside of Earth and the colonies. Ninety-nine percent of the people in the club were human, save for a salarian and Garrus.

"Gimme some Jameson's." As soon as it was set down he took a swig at the glass and looked at Shepard. She had already had three drinks. He spoke,

"Damn it's good to be home." She looked at him,

"Ain't that the truth. Now where is the owner of the club, he might have some information." Zaeed shrugged,

"Dunno. Why don't we ask?" Zaeed turned to the bartender,

"Where is the owner? We want to buy this place..." The woman nodded and pointed to a secluded booth. A man was surrounded by several rich men and many beautiful women. The three of them walked over, Zaeed took point. When they reached the booth, Zaeed's hand travelled to the gun at his hip.

"We need a word with the owner." The man the bartender pointed to waved everyone from the booth and sat forward hands resting on the table. He was thirty-something, slim, and had an angular face. Almost russian looking. Shepard, Zaeed, and Garrus sat down. He spoke with the thick accent of the slums,

"What brings two heavily armed humans and a turian to my club?" Zaeed laid the pistol on the table, so that the owner would know who and what he was dealing with. It was Shepard who spoke first,

"Information... We're looking for an 18 year old girl, she worked here?" Immediately the bartender's face darkened. He sighed and put his hands on his face. Looking through his fingers he paused and then began,

"You must be looking for Exia." They nodded. His hands travelled to the table and he started wringing them.

"In which case, you already know that you won't find her here. She was... regrettably... active in her oppostion to one of the local gangs. The other day she comes to me asking for protection. I asked her what happened, she said she killed one of their members. I... *sigh* ...turned her away, told her I couldn't help her. I... haven't seen her since. That was about a week and a half ago. You have to understand I couldn't hide her here, they would have shut me down!" Zaeed's jaw tensed, he wanted to say something but for once he was at a loss for words. Garrus spoke this time,

"Where is this gang? What are we up against?" Zaeed's fingers tightened on the grip of his gun. It was taking a lot of strength of mind not to shoot this man on the spot.

"They are at least 150 strong. They're german... They're headquarters are in Berlin. That's a half hour flight from here. I don't know what they are doing to her, but they specialize in sex tourism and slavery." _Sex tourism... Fuckin' hell..._ Any ounce of strength that Zaeed had left him, he heard all that he needed to, he picked the pistol up and shot the owner in the arm. The man yelled, grabbing his arm.

"WHAT THE FUCK MAN! I SAID I DID WHAT I COULD!" Zaeed stared coldly at him.

"That's a fuckin' lie and you know it." Zaeed turned and walked out past the throngs of people now backing away from the scene. Shepard and Garrus quickly followed.

"I'm glad you shot him in the arm before I did." Shepard said gruffly.

"Yeah..." Zaeed's voice trailed off. All he could think about was Exia being tortured. Exia being raped. Exia dead. He needed to find her, he couldn't let her get sucked into the underworld like that. Not his Exia... Garrus's voice broke his thoughts.

"So are we heading to Berlin?" Shepard looked at Zaeed and answered,

"Yes we are. We need to get on public transport, it should take no more than an hour to get there. Zaeed are you okay?" Zaeed glanced at her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She looked at him intensely,

"Zaeed..."

"What Shepard! What do you want to me to say! Do you want me to tell you exactly what I'm feeling? You want me to play nice and talk to you like your my goddamned therapist? Newsflash! I'm pretty goddamn upset that the only bloody person I care about is now... who knows the fuck where! So when I say I'm fine, just leave it at that. Or better yet...just help me find her and don't ask me any fuckin' questions!" It came out louder than Zaeed wanted it to, but he wasn't about to apologize either. Zaeed turned away and put his hands over his eyes.

"Hey get a fucking grip. You can't talk that way to a group leader, let alone Shepard! I don't know who the fuck you think you are, but don't let it happen again." Garrus's retort came out as a hiss and it only pissed Zaeed off more.

"What are you? Her fuckin' pep squad? You, Miranda n Kelly would make a pretty good team. Now get your ugly ass face out of mine." Zaeed pushed Garrus out of the way and started walking to the nearest airbus station. If anybody tried to stop him from wiping that gang of the face of the planet, he would put a bullet through their goddamn head. It didn't matter if it was Jesus himself.

* * *

Shepard spoke to Garrus through the private comm.

"Garrus, its fine really. He's just really upset, to say the least. That girl means a lot to him. They go a long way back." Garrus responded,

"I figured, but he still doesn't have a right to talk to you that way. It's like he forgets who you are." Shepard smiled, switched off the comm, and sped up to keep up with Zaeed. Garrus followed still fuming at Zaeed's insubordination.

* * *

They got the airbus tickets and sat down in the seats. Zaeed with an ever deepening scowl on his face, Shepard looking continuously more anxious and worried, and Garrus with an unreadable expression on his face. Over the intercom a woman's soft british accent sounded,

"Next stop Berlin. Arrival in approximately 10 minutes."

* * *

_AN: As usual, please review!_


	4. Lesson of the Day

"Shut the fuck up! You STUPID FUCKIN' BITCH!" The man's cockney accent reverberated on the walls.

Exia had been going on like this for hours, keeping them on edge and tense. She kept laughing,

"You are gonna die! Once I'm out of here I am going to slit your mo-ther-fuck-ing throats!" 'Cockney' pulled out a knife and before anyone could calm him down, he sliced down her arm. She yelled in pain and felt warm blood trickle down her body. She laughed again,

"Fuck you... You think these walls can keep me in?"

A man who had been sitting in the dark corner got up. Exia hadn't heard him say one word for the past three days. She had guessed he was some sort of leader. He stopped to talk privately to 'Cockney' and motioned for him to leave. Then pulled off his belt and began to speak in a heavy german accent,

"You see... There are certain things you have to do to make a woman shut up. You can't yell at her. That adds fuel to the flame." He was now very close to Exia. His tone was ever even and clear and it scared her. She became very quiet.

"You have to show her who's in charge!" The last word came out forcefully as he lashed her back with the belt. She clung to the wall that she was strung up against and clamped down on her tongue with her teeth.

"You need to let her know, that you will do exactly what you say!" On the last word Exia cried out in pain.

"You start with the back!" A third slash smarted across Exia's back, causing her to cry again.

"Then you hit each part of her body!" The belt landed on her butt. Exia cried again.

"You work your way down the legs!" The belt cracked on her hamstrings and on her calves. Exia was now screaming with each lash. She was doing all she could not to pass out. Some of the men were now cheering.

"When you're finished with that side you flip her around." Exia was jerked around and now faced him. She saw his neat, well-kept hair, his clear, unwrinkled face, and she hated him even more. He reached out a hand and caressed her face. Fingers slowly traced her jaw and lips. Exia spit on his hand. His demeanor didn't even change; he wiped his hand off on her, and wagged his finger.

"You do not tolerate misbehavior such as that!" The belt came across her mouth and tore it open. The pain was excruciating, she felt as if her lips had been torn off. She couldn't scream, she couldn't think and her mouth was filling up with blood.

"You continue down her body... this is the tricky part. You do enough to teach a lesson, but you don't want to kill the slut. Especially one as beautiful as this!" Pain seared through her abdomen and Exia whimpered and moaned softly.

"Our work here is almost done see! She is not so loud anymore!" The belt licked across her thighs. There was more laughter.

"Now we need to see if she has learned her lesson!" He came close to her ear and spoke softly,

"Who do you think is coming to save you? Hmmm?" Exia couldn't speak.

"Darling, an answer is required..." She mustered up her voice,

"Fuck you." It came out barely audible. He leaned closer,

"What did you say? You need to speak up. These men can't hear you..." Exia took a deep breath,

"Fuck you! You COCK-suck_ing_ misogynists!" The phrase echoed around the silent room and then everyone started laughing. The german spoke,

"I don't think she has learned her lesson for the day! No, no, no... She thinks that she can play the martyr and maybe she will be saved by God himself. Take her off the wall and unshackle her." Exia felt her arms come to her sides and the metal binds come off. She was half dragged to the center of the floor.

"Remove her clothes." What clothes Exia had on her body were ripped off of her and lay tattered on the floor. Now catcalls and whistling filled the air. She stood there uncaring.

"They say this one was a fighter. People would make bets on her at clubs. It was famed that she could kill anyone with her bare hands..." The speaker was now circling her like a wolf. Exia was getting tunnel vision.

"I want to see if it's true!" The cheering was getting louder.

"Hans, you've done some time right?" The young man nodded.

"You think you can fight her?" Hans nodded, grinning.

Hans removed his shirt, pants, and shoes. He stood there tense in just his boxers.

"There is only one rule... No death." The tension in the air was so high; Exia felt the electricity on her body.

"Begin!"

As soon as the word had left his lips, Hans was swinging at her. Exia had entered into a sub-conscious, instinctual state of being. She sensed her surroundings, but the information bypassed her cerebral cortex and went straight to the brain stem. The hand swinging towards her was dodged and her fist made contact with the attacker's throat. She heard him gag and placed a kick into his pelvic region, dodged another slow motion swing at the head and spun around his body. As the attacker fell to the ground, she heel stomped him in the diaphragm. She heard him groan again. Heavy footsteps came right up behind her; she brought her elbow back into his gut. She felt his heavy breath in her hair and she swung her fist up and back into his face. More footsteps. Yelling. A punch to the neck. Kick to stomach. Spin. It was turning into a violent dance. She moved around the room hurting anyone in her path, their movements slowed down and exaggerated. Her mind saw the minute tension in the muscles of her enemies. She reacted before they had time to think. She was back in her first memory, killing anyone that stood in her path. An eight year-old armed with a pistol. Then something caught her attention, it glinted. A knife. She grabbed it from where it lay. She sank it into her next enemy's chest.

BANG! She fell to the ground. She screamed loud and long.

"MOTHERFUCKER!" She was back into her regular state of mind again. The german spoke,

"Everyone leave." His voice was short and cold, immediately the room was empty.

The german was now standing over her. Exia winced as he grabbed her by her injured shoulder and dragged her to the table, pushing her face down onto it he splayed her legs.

"So this is the only way you can get a hard-on? You fuckin' disgust me." He picked her up by the back of the neck and slammed her face down. Exia moaned and cried in pain. He flipped her onto her back and held her in place by her neck. He brought the knife she had in her hand to her mouth, placing it on her lips.

"Now... I want you to listen very carefully. The time has come for you to stop being so rude. You know that no one is coming for you. They have forgotten, otherwise they would have been here already. Someone has already offered to buy you. I don't want to have to kill my investment, in the process of breaking her in. So I need you to behave. Do you understand what I am saying?" The words he hissed at her eroded her soul, part of her screamed in agony at this truth. The other part saw his reasoning and accepted it coldly. She had thought Zaeed might come because they were close to each other. She understood now that she was kidding herself. Zaeed wouldn't and wasn't coming for her. There was no need to keep fooling herself and in the blink of an eye, all hope and light had vanished from her... She had succumbed to the darkness of the underworld. Exia realized the only way out of this room was to submit herself to their will. So in the interest of self-preservation she nodded and smiled. The man looked pleased,

"You will be fixed up by the surgeon in a moment. Then tomorrow Sara will teach you what is expected of you. If you do not cooperate then you will be punished."


	5. Morals

_{AN: Well... here is another chapter! Looks like my creativity and time came back at once! Hope you enjoy it and please review.}_

Shepard sat looking out the window at the fast approaching city lights. Berlin was big to say the least. Her thoughts travelled to Zaeed's girl, Exia. _What kind of job was she even doing at that club? ... And then there was the owner of the club who seemed to have some sort of familiar relationship with her. It didn't make sense._ Shepard decided to voice her opinion. Three minds were always better than one.

"Zaeed, Garrus..." Zaeed grunted a response and Garrus picked his head up to look at her.

"What is it?"

"Do you think the owner of the club was lying to us about Exia? I mean we didn't even get his name... What if we're being set up here?" Garrus thought for a second and spoke,

"Then we don't deserve to live, if we can be set up by a petty underworld club owner then we obviously aren't smart enough to even take down the collector's. Did you feel like he was telling the truth when we were there?" Shepard was surprised at Garrus's response. He had barely uttered more than two sentences during the time of their operation. He had a point though.

"I don't trust anybody I don't know. But when you have a gun in someone's face they usually tell the truth." Garrus nodded, he knew this to be a fact especially among lowlifes. Shepard continued,

"So we think that he was telling the truth, but where is this gang? Maybe the local police could help?" Zaeed sighed,

"When I still lived here I heard about them, back then they were one of the nastier gangs, they dealt mainly in selling kids and women. When I was part of a small gang in London, we ran into their people a lot. They would go into the slums and kidnap women. They would take them to the headquarters and sell them out to the rich and powerful. I learned that when it comes right down to it, a man will do most anything to have a little pleasure. Some men that means buyin' some girl and enslavin' her. I don't care one way or the other, but nobody fucks with me and my own." Shepard wasn't surprised at Zaeed's possessiveness of this girl, what did surprise her was the sudden opening up. It was him who had said he didn't need a 'fuckin' therapist'. Shepard spoke,

"So what was the point of that Zaeed?" Zaeed looked hard at Shepard.

"The _point_ is that the local police don't give a damn what happens. They would just as soon as let it go on than stop it. The _reason_? Because those fat fucks that like to rape little girls and boys on vacation give lots of money to the local police in the form of generous fuckin' donations. The police won't help us. A rival gang will." Zaeed sat back in his seat and surveyed Shepard's reactions. She squeezed the bridge of her nose with her fingers and sighed. She looked back up at him,

"I assume since you ran with gangs on earth, that you still have connections here."

"You're goddamn right I do. You think I'd be able to get half the goods I get if I didn't have connections. I know just the bitch up for the job."

* * *

Shepard considered herself a patient person, she considered herself a forgiving person. All around she was easy to get along with, not requiring strict obedience among her crew. There were times however, when certain individuals crossed that boundary. Jack had done it several times, Zaeed, Grunt, and Garrus had all done something. Hell half the crew got on her nerves at one time or the other, she was okay with that. However, there were also limits; Limits such as using a prostitute as a ploy to bring known sex slavers out of the dark, then using hostages to get back one eighteen year-old girl. It was the sort of thing Zaeed was good at and it was the sort of thing that Shepard hated doing.

It had felt like hours since they had set up their posts outside a popular bar. The prostitute that Zaeed had gotten for the job required credits, of course. She was a friend of Zaeed's, of course, and had volunteered for it. It still didn't make sense to Shepard why she needed to be _paid _if she was _volunteering_. But unwilling to argue the point, Shepard had just agreed.

* * *

So here they were, Zaeed lounging on a chair outside of the bar enjoying a drink. Garrus pacing back and forth agitatedly, his mandibles looking like they were having a seizure. Shepard was leaning against the side of the bar watching the woman across the street. Garrus stopped pacing,

"So explain to me again, how are we sure that they will come and grab her?" Shepard stood up straight,

"Well, this is a zone where its known that they come and kidnap often. Prostitutes normally don't walk around in this section. So when they do their routine street sweep, they will scan her via the chip in her arm, and attempt to nap her." Garrus's mandibles twitched again,

"Which is where we shoot at the car or follow them in our car and shoot them later?"

"That's when we shoot the car up, Prostitute goes free, we grab the members, and we take _our _car to the headquarters…" Zaeed cut Shepard off,

"And spray fuckin' lead all over their fuckin' bodies!" Zaeed sat back in his seat and continued to brood. He wasn't paying any niceties to Shepard. She had almost fucked up Zorya, she was not going to fuck this up. She was a woman that could get the job done, he gave her that; but she was not fuckin' willing to get her hands bloody. That must've been why Cerberus hired him, to teach her a bloody lesson or two.

He looked back across the street at Silkie, she was looking forward to this. Ever since her sister had been taken fifteen years ago, she had had it in for them. He remembered her sworn vengeance to bring them down too. She had required payment, so that Jacky would be satisfied. It was the nightly minimum, 600 credits. Shepard still had a problem with it; he didn't understand her goddamn morals sometimes. You wouldn't hire a mechanic to point out parts to you and then not pay him at least a bloody small amount of creds.

* * *

The three of them stopped moving and looked down the street. A big car was approaching slowly, tinted windows, custom frame, expensive mods. It was exactly what Silkie had described. They stopped next to Silkie and started talking to her. The door in the back opened up and two men got out. Zaeed, Shepard, and Garrus pulled out their favored guns at the same time. Gunfire ensued.

The car was shot up, flames coming out of it. Four men had tried to escape by running down the street and had ended up with bullets in each leg. Zaeed shook his head, _they always try to fuckin' run_. Silkie was now handcuffing the lot of them and ensuring that the four men didn't try anything funny.

They had made it clear to the men, exactly what situation they were in. Shepard had gone to get Silkie's car to transport the hostages. Zaeed turned to Silkie,

"600 creds have been forwarded to your account." Silkie nodded,

"Thank you Zaeed, I hope those bastards get everything that is coming to them." Zaeed put a hand on her back,

"Don't worry they will bloody burn in hell. I will goddamn make sure of it." Silkie smiled and walked away. Garrus looked at Zaeed,

"How do you know her?"

"She was a friend of a friend; she did a couple drug runs for the Blue Suns a couple of years back." Garrus stiffened,

"Well at least she helped us." Shepard had arrived with the car. They began moving the men into the back of the car. Zaeed made sure to go out of his way to be brutal and harsh. He grabbed one man by the throat and shoved him into the car. The other man by the hair. Shepard just glared at him and turned her head away. Zaeed looked at her,

"What, you never heard of police brutality. Its goddamn war right now… They ain't gonna play by the rules so why should we, it puts us at a disadvantage." Shepard glared at him again,

"You know not everything has to be Black Ops, I _understand_ these people don't play by the rules. But do you understand that I am your superior in this fucked up mess. Does that even mean anything to you?" Garrus finished securing the hostages, who were now gagged. Zaeed took a step towards Shepard,

"Does it mean a goddamn thing to you that a girl is dying right now? I understand that your company is paying me to work with you. I don't remember, but do you collect a paycheck? –" Before Zaeed continued berating Shepard, she had punched him square in the jaw.

"Maybe you should remember why you're here… To follow my goddamn orders. So if I tell you to shut the hell up, you shut the hell up. If I tell you to do something, I don't give a _damn_ what it is, you do it!" Shepard hissed her rebuttle at Zaeed.

Zaeed looked at her long and hard, _fuckin' hell_. He got in the car and didn't say a word. All he knew was Exia had better be alive.


	6. Tasks Completed

_Sorry that its been so long! However, now that I am moved into my new house and we have a stable internet connection, I will be writing more consistently. Once again I hope you enjoy!_

* * *

Zaeed and Garrus walked into the club. They had informed the german gang of their hostages and the deal. Now Zaeed and Garrus were going to inform them of just how serious they were. The club pulsed with heavy bass. Dancers stood on pedestals, floating above the crowd. They dropped down and climbed up the poles with such fluidity. Zaeed had to mentally remind himself why he came here. He looked at Garrus and could see he was also captivated by them. Then his eyes found a table on the second floor of the club. A large group of men was sitting each with a stripper on their lap. Zaeed swore under his breath. The pulsating strobe lights, laser lights, and holograms made it hard to see the stairs as they climbed up. After what seemed like twenty minutes they finally made it to the top. They matched each other's stride as they travelled to the table. Each pulling out a weapon and taking aim, Zaeed addressed the group,

"Girls, I think it's time for you to leave, its man talk right now." Without looking back all the stripper's got off their laps and left to continue their shift. Some of the men were sporting stupid smiles, other's looked like they would gladly cut off Zaeed and Garrus's heads. Too bad for them, Zaeed and Garrus were in no mood.

"Which one of you calls yourself the leader of this group?" There was a pause and the most tattooed spoke,

"I guess I'm the one you're looking for." Without any hesitation, Zaeed shot the man point-blank, in the chest with a shotgun. Blood sprayed all over his companions. The younger men flinched, the older ones didn't even move a muscle. None of the rest of the club noticed; the music was so loud and the men were in a very secluded spot. Garrus spoke this time,

"Now, which one of you would be next in charge?" There was silence, which is exactly what Zaeed and Garrus had anticipated. Garrus put a bullet through the head of the oldest man remaining. Zaeed shot the youngest. There were three men remaining, each of them coated in blood. Garrus and Zaeed made eye contact and nodded, signaling that they were ready for the final act of this massacre. Each shot the man closest to them, leaving one man remaining. Garrus shot the remaining man in the legs. Zaeed spoke in a low and menacing tone,

"Now, listen fuckface you are going to tell every goddamn thing that happened right now. You are going to describe to them what we look like. You are telling them that if they don't give us what we want… _we_, _will_, _kill,_ _everyone_." Zaeed could smell the piss coming from the nodding man in front of him. He was pretty sure that Garrus could as well, for he was sporting a turian look of disgust. He spoke again,

"Now you are going to call and tell them to come and get you." Without wasting a second, the injured man brought up his omni-tool and began the call.

They walked back down the stairs and found a booth facing the entrance and the second floor. Garrus watched the second floor of the club, nothing was really going on so he looked around. He hadn't really been paying attention to the humans around him until now, truthfully he hadn't even noticed who was around him. He took this as an opportunity to observe the human home world. The music was something that Garrus had never imagined. He had listened to some of the human music on the Normandy, but nothing compared to the raw, primal beats that this club offered. It clearly moved everyone in the room, they were dancing in time together. In the time that they had been on Earth, he had experienced a wide range of music. The songs dealt with freedom, love, beauty, anger, death, and life. it really nailed it in that turians didn't have the same huge capacity for emotion like humans did. He had trouble understanding even the simplest of moodswings, let alone major ones. He really didn't understand how humans could understand eachother at all. It was when he was going through these thoughts that he noticed unusual movement in the back of the club. Several heavily armed men were entering through the back door. Garrus nodded his head towards the back and Zaeed turned slightly to look. The two men tensed ready to open fire in the club.

Garrus looked as the men went up to the top floor and spoke with the member he had shot in the legs earlier. There was lots of shouting. The dancers remained unfazed by the gang turmoil that was now unfolding. One of the armed men pulled out a pistol and shot the injured one in the head, causing it to explode and spray brain matter. Zaeed's omni-tool beeped,

"It's recorded. Let's go." Garrus nodded and got up from the table and left with Zaeed.

* * *

Zaeed and Garrus walked into the warehouse that they occupied. Shepard sat there with the hostages with a nonplussed expression.

"You said 2 hours tops. It is now pushing 5. Next time warn me." Shepard didn't need to raise her voice, the words cut like blades through the air. Zaeed looked at her and shrugged. She had hoped that Garrus would feel some remorse. Zaeed was a lost cause, he was doing as he pleased on this mission and there was nothing she could do about it. Shepard hated not having control over the team, but she hated people dying when she was supposed to save them more. Torfan was bad and so was X57. She wasn't going to have a woman die now because she couldn't take a backseat. So she swallowed the orders she would normally bark out and instead sat quietly. The hostages sat there with the black bags over their heads. They were tied to the chairs, making it look seriously old-school.

"We got a rough idea of what we're up against." Zaeed brought up the vids on his omni-tool and showed them to Shepard. She nodded as she watched. Looking back up at Zaeed she asked,

"So when do you want to set the plan in motion?"

"I'm thinking we'll move in the morning. We'll bring the hostages and the explosives and set up camp. We'll see how the deal goes." Zaeed knew that Shepard knew it didn't matter if the exchange happened or not. The whole fuckin' establishment was going to blow and everyone was going to die.

* * *

**Please Review! Even if its just to say that I should just stop... there's no point in wasting effort.**


	7. Same but Different

Exia gave an audible gasp as she saw her reflection in the mirror. Her normally pristine skin was riddled with bruises and cuts. Not to mention the very large slice stretching from the corner of her mouth to her cheekbone. There was no color left in her face, leaving her pale and sickly. Looking back on the treatment she had received it was no surprise that she would look like this. As of late, her punishments were less severe. She no longer received ten lashings for not cooperating; instead she was slapped in the face. Apparently they had discovered that a slap was more humiliating than being whipped. At least it was that way for Exia. Her daily ritual consisted of wearing ridiculous clothing and posing for possible buyers. She would enter a room wearing a bra and thong. She had no shoes but wore a robe made of French lace. There were usually only six people to a room. To protect their identities the room was pitch black, save for the spotlight that was on her. It was eerie to say the least, Exia felt like a piece of meat to be bought for a pretty penny, then savored and shit out later. It was very much the same process, women and children only survived about three years before they were mutilated, murdered, and their mangled body parts spread to the four winds. Every time she left the showroom, Exia felt dirty. She felt as though her soul was tainted by these evil men. She had done bad things before, she had killed before in cold blood, but this… this was something so vile it made her shiver and quake. What made it scarier was that no one was coming for her. It wasn't like the vids, no hero would swoop in and save her. Nobody even knew where she was and she never felt more alone in the universe.

She moved to sit down on the stone floor again, pretending to go to sleep. She thought a lot in the hours that she was supposed to be sleeping. She often pondered on her predicament, how it felt to not be cared about by anything. How her captors had more emotional attachment to her cell than to her. They did not care who she was or where she was going. She wasn't even hated… at least when someone hates you they have the consideration to think about what exactly they can't stand about you. With these people it was just another order to prep and sell. The quality didn't even matter, it was only the money.

Exia's blood still boiled at the thought of her once proud self being reduced to this empty husk of a being. She had become completely submissive. They raped her, fed her moldy garbage, filled her body with enough narcotics to make an elephant delirious, and she never once tried to stop them. She had an overwhelming feeling of disgust at what she felt she had done to herself. She was very exhausted after the beatings she had taken today and after having thrown up her food, so Exia drifted away to a different universe. One where she was not an object but a person, she was loved, and she had the power to make the decisions for her own life.

* * *

Zaeed was up early, in fact he hadn't slept at all that night. Shepard had gone to sleep right away; the damn woman could sleep anywhere. Garrus had drifted off about three hours ago. Zaeed guessed turians had different sleeping habits. Zaeed himself was too wound up to even think about sleeping and there were the hostages to watch, although they were clearly going nowhere. Her had made himself a coffee from the military rations they took with them and went to look out the window at the sun rising. A small part of him wondered if Exia was somewhere where she could watch it rise, he remembered that was her favorite part of the day. He laughed at himself for being so sentimental. It was that side of him that Exia had discovered and used to her advantage; often resulting in her getting her way.

Zaeed was brought out of his thoughts as he heard movement from behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw Shepard get up and brush off her under armor, she had been sleeping on the floor. She put on her armor and walked over to Zaeed,

"So what do you plan on doing when we find Exia?"

"Before or after we get done with the exchange?"

"After we leave Earth." Zaeed paused before responding,

"Well, I hadn't thought that far ahead yet. I was mostly focusing on goddamn finding her. I don't know, it's been a long time since I saw her last…" Shepard moved impatiently,

"I know. We can drop her off at a spaceport on a different planet if you want to." Zaeed sighed obviously irritated at Shepard's discourteous mood,

"Yeah, Earth probably wouldn't be very smart for her. Mars might be too close. Illium would be the best." Shepard nodded in agreement,

"I'm sure Liara could keep tabs on her and make sure she stays out of trouble."

"Exia doesn't start trouble, it always finds her and she finishes it. That was how I found her. She was always the one person I could count on finishing a fight… even if it was to her fuckin' death she wouldn't back down. What I want to know is how she got involved in this goddamn mess." Shepard turned away from Zaeed and looked at Garrus and the others.

"I guess we better get moving." She walked over to Garrus and spoke to him; he woke with a start grabbing his rifle. Realizing his surroundings, he let down his guard and stood up.

* * *

The sun was still not very high over the horizon by the time they made it to the slums that this gang occupied. They parked Silkie's car outside of the compound. They grabbed the four hostages and tied them all together, chain gang fashion. The gates were guarded by six men and one small boy holding an ancient looking rifle. Zaeed noted that it came from around two and a half centuries ago, he was surprised that the antique actually worked. The boy motioned for them to stop and the six men grew tense. The boy who was probably seven was yelling at them in a slum language that was not recognized by their earpieces. They stood there waiting, unsure of what to do. Then Shepard spoke,

"We are here to make a trade with you. We have these hostages in return for a woman." Her voice echoed across the gate area. The boy's attention was drawn to a radio, he picked it up and started talking. After a little bit he put it down and motioned for them to come through. They were escorted by the six men that were at the gate.

As they walked through the compound Garrus looked around. He had heard of child soldiers, particularly among the Batarians, but he had never thought that humans would practice such an act. He had thought their compassion for their children would lead them away from forcing them into a life of crime and violence. Yet here they were, young boys with scars on their faces running around or lounging in the street, all with a weapon nearby. Some of the teenage boys had the gang tattoos on their bodies and Garrus could see their hard lives etched in their dirty faces. He realized how much he appreciated his father's teachings and morals, it wasn't until this moment he was truly grateful for his childhood.

Shepard looked around and saw the world she lived in as a child. The only hope you had was to rise above poverty through crime. Underworld crime bosses were gods in these children's' minds. She was reminded of her first job, every Wednesday the Catholic priest's would come through the streets and give to the orphaned children. She would go with ten or twenty other children and pretend to be maimed or hungry. The priests would give them money for clothes and food. The money she received would go straight to the Reds in her area; she would get a small portion in return. She remembered the feeling of those coins in her hand. She remembered she would go straight to the theatre and watch the action vids. She smiled inwardly as she thought of her eight year old self and how much she had changed, yet stayed the same.

As Garrus and Shepard were lost in thoughts known only to them, Zaeed was lost in his own. It was easy to lose yourself in these streets. Zaeed was reminded again how little the slums had changed. It had always been like this and always would be, the only way to escape it was to fight your way away from it. He remembered how at the age of fifteen he met Vido and they had discussed their great plans for a gang that didn't just do business on Earth, but on different colonies. He had gotten his first tattoo a couple of months later. These boys were the exact same as he was at their age, doing anything to make a quick buck. He was four when he killed his first man; it was a six year old boy from the opposing gang. These random thoughts flitted in and out of his head when he looked around at the drunken whores standing around giving moldy bread and whiskey to their many children.

It was about a twenty minute walk to the other side of the compound where the boss was. He was sitting outside with a dour looking woman. The six men backed away and took aim at the back of their heads. Zaeed looked for weaknesses in the structure and anything that would go boom. He found what he was looking for, a propane tank next to a wall that was already decrepit looking. The German boss got up and spoke to them with an educated sounding German accent,

"So you are here for a prisoner exchange, was that what it was?" Zaeed responded,

"Yeah, that's right. Now where is she?" The German boss nodded and sent the dour woman to go get Exia or someone else.


	8. One Choice

After ten minutes, Zaeed knew the woman wasn't coming back. All the cards were on the table now. The hostages were of no meaning to the German. He was bluffing as well, _damn kraut_. Zaeed shifted impatiently on his feet, aware that all eyes were on him, including Shepard and Garrus. Rolling his neck he thought. _Equip Incendiary ammo. Throw fire grenade. Propane tank explodes. Blows hole in wall. Kills hostages. Kills guards. Kills snipers. Grab German. Escape around back of building. Find car. Torture German in warehouse. _In theory it would be easy, but as with anything, in practice it's much harder. To put his plan into action Zaeed spoke to distract the German,

"You fucking bastard. I actually thought you mighta had the girl. I shoulda known better…" The German blinked as Zaeed clicked his battle rifle to incendiary ammo and in a single movement threw the grenade. It flew through the air landing right in the sweet spot. Half a second later it blew its top. The sky turned black and red, the ground shook, and the roar of the fire consuming the air filled Zaeed's ears. Everyone was knocked to the ground. Standing back up Zaeed began locating the snipers and taking shots. He didn't care that he was out in the open, he didn't care that he just endangered the lives of everyone in the 300 meter vicinity. He was fuckin' pissed and didn't give a damn about the rest of the world. Zaeed wanted to beat everyone into a bloody pulp; he wanted to mash their guts into ground with his boots. Each person he killed helped him find solace in the fact that they would never be able to hurt Exia again. He looked at Garrus who was now stumbling back to his feet. He began yelling,

"Fuck! Garrus shoot these bastards! There's three snipers left on the roof!" Garrus pulled out his sniper rifle, angrily glaring at Zaeed as he fell behind cover. First Zaeed blows up a propane tank without warning as he jumps to an assumption and then expects Garrus to be able to jump into battle yelling and shooting. Garrus could do the impossible any day, but he did need time to take shots!

Shepard was livid, the last time he had done this, it had cost the lives of everyone working at the refinery. Not to mention they had almost died in a fire back there as well. This was not about to happen again. She heard Zaeed yelling as he was shooting the snipers. Shepard wrenched the shotgun off of her back and gritting her teeth, briefly considered shooting Zaeed with a concussive round; instead she leveled with the guards. She fired six inferno rounds mercilessly into the group. Six bodies charred with intestines lying on the ground were all that remained. She was tired of having to be the one to set an example to all the miscreants she had been forced to lead. Oh how she wished she could be as absolute as Zaeed and not give a damn about the rest of the world, but she couldn't. Zaeed was now spraying lead into the hostages and backing towards the hole created in the compound wall. Garrus was taking down the snipers, counting over the comm as usual. Shepard picked herself up and ran towards Zaeed as he grabbed the stunned, bleeding German,

"We are getting the fuck outta here! Garrus let's go!" Shepard turned at the last minute to look and saw more troops running to the area. The German was now resisting Zaeed and elbowed him in the side and then in the neck. The German had moved over to Garrus and attempted to box him in his cybernetics. That was a big mistake, Garrus still simmering, smacked down the German with such force that Shepard winced as his body crumpled to the ground. Humans, Shepard included, often underestimated Turian skill in sparring and brutal violence. Zaeed growled and rolled his neck as he grabbed the German by his arms and began dragging him along the ground towards the direction of the car. Shepard had been providing covering fire as the fight was ensuing. Most of the troops showing up now were bloodthirsty criminal, wearing the gang's black and red colors and were heavily tattooed. They had started firing wildly at the small group. However, they lacked real guts in a firefight and were therefore easily suppressed with continuous sprays from her SMG. Shepard took a quick look behind her and saw Zaeed and Garrus retreating towards the car. Taking a grenade from her belt she threw it into the midst of the angry mob and ran the opposite direction, reaching the team. They dragged the limp body through the alleys and brought it to the car. Zaeed shoved the body in the trunk and got in the passenger seat as Shepard was beginning to take off. She was speeding and whipping in and out of traffic as they headed toward the warehouse, she spoke to the car, or rather yelled,

"Anyone care to explain what the fuck happened? Cuz I tell ya, I'm lost as to why the hell ZAEED decided it was perfectly okay to get us nearly killed AGAIN! I swear that the almighty fucking Illusive Man hired you to kill me! Seriously! I understand your pissed cuz you don't got your girl back yet, but come ON it doesn't take that much brain power to realize that there are other people on the team besides you and yourself!" Zaeed interrupted Shepard's tirade,

"And it doesn't take alotta goddamn 'brain power' to fuckin' realize that we got set up! Open your fuckin' eyes! He knew we were there for 'er and he was stringin' us along! I did us a goddamn favor and you act like I got ya killed!" Shepard screamed and slammed the car down on the ground in front of the warehouse. Getting out she grabbed the German from the trunk and dragged his knees along the ground and threw him on the floor.

Zaeed stormed in followed by Garrus. The German was finally coming to after Garrus's blow to the head, Zaeed keyed in on that and stomped towards him. Grabbing him by the shirt collar he slammed him against the wall,

"Where the hell is she!" The German laughed,

"You think you can scare me like this? My initiation was worse." Zaeed gnashed his teeth and snarled,

"I bet it was." Taking a step back he loaded a concussive round into his battle rifle. He aimed at the German's stomach. He pulled the trigger and heard him scream in agony. Dragging him back up and slamming him on the wall again Zaeed spat in his face,

"I'm sure you were shot in the stomach with a concussive round." The German was bleeding badly from his stomach and Zaeed could see that he wouldn't last much longer,

"Now, where is she?" The German was silent as he realized he was dying. It was funny how the absoluteness of death changed your perspective. His lips were moving but no sound came out. Zaeed slapped him,

"Speak up, you goddamn—" The German spoke louder,

"She was given to a syndicate leader in Japan. I have the data on my omni-tool. Please, just take me to..." Zaeed laughed venomously,

"Take you! I ain't takin' you nowhere! You're fuckin' crazy. No, I've got a better idea." Zaeed half dragged him to a window,

"You give us that data and I won't drop you off the tenth floor." The German was coughing up blood now, nodding he silently prayed. Maybe helping save the life of one girl would atone for his life's worth of crime and sin. He brought up the information and Garrus walked over and began copying the information to his own omni-tool. Garrus finished and signaled to Zaeed who dropped the German out of the window. Mumbling to himself,

"Fuckin' thinks giving information on a trade will save him in the end. What a goddamn—aah I don't give a fuck anymore." Turning away Zaeed saw Shepard fuming. Her eyes bored into him demanding his attention and an explanation. He wasn't about to explain anything, it shouldn't need explaining. They were going to where Exia was… that was the mission. He would go it alone if need be, it was tempting… after all the fuss Shepard was making. Turning away from her he sat down with his back against a pillar. He needed to piece together what happened and figure out a plan.

Exia woke up from a pleasant drug induced sleep. She had actually dreamt and was still experiencing the euphoric after effects of the drug. Her vision was foggy but when she looked around she realized she was not in her cell or any place that she recognized. Instantly awake and frightened she wondered where she was. She was on a bed, she was chained to it. It was early morning and the rising sun lit up the room. Everything was luxurious, anything that glittered was gold or diamonds or platinum. Her attention was focused elsewhere though as she heard footsteps outside her door.

Two men in suits walked in. One undid her cuffs while the other grabbed her by her upper arms and marched her in front of him. Exia felt like she was being marched to execution. The drum of her heartbeat seemed like the appropriate music. The good feelings from the drugs were gone and she was left with the horrible reminder of what her life now was. As she was marched into an equally luxurious office she saw a man facing the window. The suit with her cuffs walked over to the man and spoke in his ear. After what seemed like an eternity of standing still the man at the window turned around. Smiling he spoke to Exia,

"Ahh, little Exia. You've grown up to be such a beautiful young woman!" She squinted at this man who apparently had known her when she was younger. She didn't recognize him at all. She spoke hoarsely,

"Who are you?" He walked closer to her,

"Yatuka Watanabe. I met you a very long time ago on Omega. You were a small, traumatized girl then. Much like you are now." He signaled for his guards to leave,

"I have some things that I need you to do and then I will send you back to Zaeed." Exia shut her eyes, that name had such an effect on her, opening them again she looked at the Japanese man in front of her,

"What do you want?" He put his arm around her shoulders,

"I want you to get rid of a couple men for me… I heard that you were famous among some circles for your mastery of street fighting." Exia stared at the ground and he continued,

"Of course, I am not rushing your decision. But I hope for your sake that you agree to this by tomorrow." Exia continued to stare at the ground. The only decision she could make her entire life was a choice between a life of a slave or a life of brutal violence. Exia already knew her decision, but she would try and prolong the inevitable as long as possible.


	9. Grocery List of Errands

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**Author's Note: I'm sorry it has taken me this long to write another chapter. To my credit I have been really busy lately. I know I know, excuses. Well this chapter is like two chapters combined, because I didn't see a good spot to break it up. Thank you to Sentimental Semantics for the helpful advice! **

**I hope y'all enjoy it!**

* * *

Exia stood outside the door as the two men with her went rushing in and grabbed their victim. Their 'victim' was a middle-aged Japanese man. He had three kids and one grandbaby; his wife had passed away recently from cancer. He had borrowed money from Yatuka for medication and gifts for his children. The only thing that he had done wrong was he hadn't paid his bills, so Yatuka requested that

_she pay him_ a visit. Yatuka's men forced her target down on his knees in front of her. She felt ashamed at herself, he had suffered so much and now she was here to break every bone in his body. The reason she had agreed was selfish, she had wanted to believe that Yatuka Watanabe was a man of his word and that he would deliver her to Zaeed. As usual there was a catch, in order to seal the deal she needed to run a 'few errands' for him. Exia took a deep breath to calm her resolve. The man in front of her didn't do anything wrong in her books, but it wasn't the first innocent man she had killed either. She wasn't even supposed to kill him... dead men don't pay. After the thought, _its better I do it than some other punk who has no respect for this man, _she began.

To make it easier on herself, she imagined the german who had beat her into submission. She backhanded his face just as he had done to her. The man fell over to the side. She kicked him in the stomach. He winced and grunted in pain. The thugs pulled him back up to a standing position and she punched him in the diaphragm, then following with a punch in the groin. The man doubled over in pain. Tenderizing him like a piece of meat made Exia feel better, she was relieving the anxiety and torment that she had experienced in the past week. Exia waited for him to recover, so she could attack again. She brought her elbow swiftly down onto his right shoulder and heard it crunch. He cried in pain and she continued the movement, kneeing him in the shoulder hard. She had successfully dislocated it. She then motioned for the thugs to bring him to a standing position as she wiped the sweat off her brow. She punched him several times in the ribs, each landing with a loud thud or slap. His head hung limp as she beat him. She grew angrier, _how dare he not look at me! He stood and watched as I was beaten into submission and he dealt out the punishment. He deserves it! _Exia hissed as she punched him in the jaw splitting her knuckles. The pain jolted her from her reverie and she looked at the man, slowly realizing what she had done. It was so easy, being the bad guy. It was terrifying that she had actually thought this man was responsible for her torture. Her hallucinations were getting worse. She shook her head at the thugs, trying to keep her voice level and calm,

"I think he gets the picture…we're done here." The Japanese man shrugged and pulled out his Shuriken. Before Exia could stop him, he shot the man once in each shoulder blade. She cried out, as the victim lay on the floor blood pooling around him,

"I said he was done! Why'd you do that?" Without thinking, she glided over to the man whose gun barrel was still smoking in the dark room. A satisfying smack echoed around the room, the thug turned his head back towards Exia hate filling his eyes. He quickly grabbed a tendon on her neck, forcing her onto her knees from the pain. As the tears welled up in her eyes, he came inches from her face,

"My boss may think you're special, but out here you don't mean shit. You do your job or I kill you. And next time you hit me I put a bullet through each of those pretty eyes of yours." He emitted a sound of disgust as he released her throwing her to the side. She lay there recovering from the pain. It was true what he had said, Yatuka treated her specially. She ate all her meals with him, she was offered the best of anything she could eat; Gold dust adorned all their desserts and only the finest wine was drunk. He was more than hospitable lavishing her with gifts and having his personal doctors look after her wounds. She could go wherever she pleased, as long as she stayed within the walls of his house. All that was asked in return for his kindness, was she complete a few errands for him. His gilded words told her that she was more powerful than she thought and that she was very dear to his heart. If Zaeed didn't want her, then she could stay forever with him. He would treat her like a queen. She thought bitterly as she lay there, _a prize bitch is still just a bitch in her master's eyes. _She quickly moved to her feet when the other thug kicked her in the side, motioning for her to move. They still had four more apartments to visit that dark night.

* * *

The multi-colored lights of Tokyo flickered and danced below their vehicle. It had been a three-hour flight over the Eurasian continent. Garrus had noticed how big the cities were; their lights nearly blinded him as he watched with interest. Once they reached the center of the massive continent, he noticed how empty it was. Everyone's ruffled feathers had since lain flat, so he asked the two humans about the region they were passing over, Zaeed grunted a response,

"That's Central Asia and the Middle East. A bloody shithole, always been a goddamn war down there. Between the drugs grown and the leaders, my kinda business is booming." Shepard had nodded in agreement, adding to the conversation,

"They constantly tear each other apart and never really change with the times. They will fight until they blow the planet to hell." Garrus commented under his breath,

"Sounds like Tuchanka."

Garrus now marveled at the new city. Tokyo was spatially challenged residing on an island and so it rose higher and higher, graceful flowing buildings lit up along the sides with bridges and walkways connecting them, it looked similar to a forest. Some of the buildings moved and rotated, giving a 360-degree view of the city surrounding them. As they descended out of the sky, he noticed the slums surrounding the ethereal buildings. He noted how the architecture of the slums here differed from the slums elsewhere. They were mostly clean and the buildings weren't falling apart. In fact, the only difference between these buildings and the ones in the heart of the city was that these had no artistic design and engineering. They were plain and functional, using as little space as possible. They were in neat orderly blocks, unlike in London and Munich. Garrus decided the word he was looking for was, _sterile_. They were depressingly void of the usual bustling life. As he mused on the architectural differences across Earth, a call came from the Normandy. Shepard played it on the loud speakers in the car,

"_Normandy to Shore party, do you read me?" _

"Loud and clear. What is it Joker?"

"_Just checking in and making sure you didn't decide to take your next vacation in Bali." _

"Nope. We've been working believe it or not. Damn thugs think it's all right to trade kids for drugs. "There was laughter in Joker's voice as he responded this time,

"_Maybe you should talk with Jack about it. Speaking of which, she almost killed Yeoman Chambers the other day." _Shepard growled under her breath,

"Fucking ridiculous. I can't leave you kids alone for two seconds; you'd think the Illusive Man hired me as your goddamned babysitters. What about Lawson? She didn't get on her high horse and try to settle the situation?" Joker snorted,

"_Umm… yeah. I'm sure that would have worked out fine. Actually, she is out in Lowell looking for some upgrade parts that different crewmembers requested. Apparently, we've almost gone broke with her spending…"_ Shepard sounded non-plussed,

"Uh-huh. I guess I'll have to talk with everyone when I get back."

"_Hey! I've been good! Anyway, you guys are headed to Tokyo now? Kasumi might want a souvenir. Wait, she just sent me a message, she wants some Ramen from Panda Wok Café." _Shepard sighed exasperatedly,

"Tell her to buy some fucking Ramen on Mars or to order it herself. I'm not grocery shopping down here." Joker chuckled again,

"_Okay Commander, I'll make sure to tell Gardner to send his list elsewhere too. He was requesting some Irish beef."_ Shepard chose to ignore this past comment,

"Is everything going okay on the Normandy?"

"_Besides the spat between Jack and Chambers, it's all been pretty quiet on the home front. Everyone's relaxing."_

"Okay, good. We gotta go, Shepard out."

"_Roger that."_ The transmission ended and they landed the vehicle in a public parking area. Garrus had almost forgotten about the Normandy, hearing from Joker made him remember that he would have to do a lot of calibrations when they got back to the ship. He sighed defeatedly, that damn gun never left him with a moments rest. His thoughts about the gun quickly dissipated when he saw Zaeed's weathered face. He felt sorry for him, he truly did. The old man's only chance at redemption was saving this girl. Garrus doubted they would find her alive. From what he had seen with the gangs and the world that she lived in, he was surprised Zaeed still thought she would be.

Zaeed climbed out of their transport and stepped onto the parking platform. He knew in order to find the syndicate boss that was keeping Exia; they would need to find Hades himself. Unfortunately _or fortunately_, Zaeed knew who might have her. Yatuka Watanabe as he went by now, was a known biotic extremist and syndicate boss. If anything, he would know where she was. He spoke to Garrus and Shepard,

"Listen up. I know a guy who might know where she is." Shepard nodded for him to continue, while she took the lead and headed toward the elevator that would take them off the roof.

"A man named Yatuka Watanabe. The Tokyo Police will know where he is. Last I know he had a deal worked with them." Garrus questioned Zaeed,

"What kind of deal?" Zaeed scoffed and shook his head,

"They don't turn 'im in and he doesn't wipe out their goddamn police force. He has enough goons under his boot to fill a fuckin' Alliance battalion." Shepard whistled,

"Well, I hope we don't have to fight all of them." She suddenly winced as Zaeed groaned,

"Fuckin' great Shepard… now we're jinxed!" Garrus was completely lost as his two teammates suddenly became very quiet and _nervous?_ Against his better judgment he decided to ask what a 'jinx' was. He found the answer odd; his own people believed that you could not change your fate or the future. Humans on the other hand believed in a constantly changing future, that adapted to different variables. What he found the oddest, was the fact that they _actually_ believed by making a hopeful statement they condemned themselves to the opposite. He was learning more and more about humanity, with every day he spent on Earth. In general, they were egocentric, pessimistic, and compassionate; they believed they were the only cause for many of Earth's problems and tried whole-heartedly to fix an issue, even if it was unfixable.

The elevator ride had been uneventful and long, as usual. When they reached the main floor, Shepard stepped out and looked around. The lobby of the building was filled with people, some of them civilians, some were policemen, and others were Alliance. Shepard recognized one of the marines as Timothy Rand; she had completed part of her N7 training with him. She quickly turned around and faced Garrus and Zaeed who were still standing in the elevator, waiting for her to move. She hissed quietly,

"Get back in and go up a level!" She hoped that Timothy hadn't recognized her; she was supposed to be low-key on Earth, especially with the rumors of her with Cerberus. Zaeed gave her a questioning look as Garrus pressed the button to go up. Shepard swore she could hear someone exclaim, _Hey wasn't that Shepard?_ She spoke once the doors were finally closed,

"I really don't want to walk into a crowded room filled with Alliance, police, and civilians when I am wearing heavy armor and accompanied by a turian and a questionable looking merc… not to mention my face is instantly recognizable… That's just asking to be bogged down by every media outlet in the area. Then I would be reprimanded-" Garrus was laughing with Zaeed who now had his hands surrendered in the air.

"Okay we get it! Just wanted to know what the plan was!" Shepard felt a small smile form on her lips, the first since they had landed on Earth.

"Fine, fine. We'll just take the stairs and go out onto the bridge that way. Where is the nearest police office?" Garrus brought up his omni-tool searching through databases. A map finally came up and he sent the coordinates to each of their omni-tools. They were thankfully only a few blocks away. The elevator stopped again and the three of them stepped into the hall and went down the stairs that were located to the right of the elevator.

Shepard, Zaeed, and Garrus stopped and stared up at the Tokyo Police District Headquarters. It was a very austere looking building, with several guards standing outside with shock batons. They stood rigidly, legs slightly spread and hands held in front holding the batons. Although they seemed as still as statues, the Normandy party could see their eyes studying and surveying each individual that passed by. As they walked into the building, they felt all eyes on them. They passed through the doors and into the receiving hall. They were greeted by a body of light that referred to itself as "Toko".

"_How may I serve you today Shepard?" _Shepard tensed forgetting briefly about the I.D. scanners that were in all government buildings. She recovered quickly,

"We need to speak with an officer about Yatuka Watanabe." Toko nodded as her synthetic voice replied,

"_An officer will meet with you shortly. Please have a seat in the reception room." _Shepard turned and looked at the reception room. It was mostly filled with young women, who had worried and scared looks on their faces. Shepard sat down grateful for the first time of her looks; she blended in here for the most part. Zaeed was getting a lot of curious attention from the women, because of his bulky form and European features. Garrus was gawked at for other obvious reasons. They chose to stand at a distance from the reception room.

Thirty minutes later…

"I'm not gonna wait another goddamn minute!" Zaeed was now pacing, his jaw muscle working overtime. Garrus leaned coolly against the wall, while Shepard sat on the floor next to him. She spoke wearily to Zaeed,

"Calm down. Going in there all hot and bothered isn't going to help anybody's situation."

"Agreed." Zaeed's head snapped over his shoulder and Shepard leapt to her feet while Garrus leaned forward. A sturdy Japanese woman had spoke,

"I'm officer Matsuo and I believe you wanted information on a Yatuka Watanabe?" Shepard thought hard while Zaeed answered, then she looked at Garrus silently asking, _is that the Captain Matsuo from Noveria?_ Garrus nodded pensively. Matsuo looked between the two of them and then turned on her heel,

"Please follow me to my office. I would rather discuss this in private."

Once they were in the seclusion of her office, her demeanor changed. She looked as though she was physically weighed down, as though the weight of the world was really resting on her shoulders. She motioned them to sit down,

"Would you like anything to eat or drink?" They each shook their heads and she sat down. They each waited patiently while she gathered her thoughts. After a few moments Matsuo finally spoke.

"Shepard we have met before… I believe you might remember me from Noveria?" Shepard nodded in affirmation. Matsuo's eyes turned to Zaeed,

"My intel says your name is Zaeed Massani and that you're a bounty hunter. Is this correct?" Zaeed also nodded, leaning back in his chair. A worried look passed briefly over Matsuo's face and then she turned her dark gaze onto Garrus,

"I believe we have also met before, on Noveria. Ex C-sec." Garrus spoke,

"Yes. So what do you have on Watanabe?" The pleasantries being finished, the officer addressed the group standing up and lacing her hands behind her back.

"Well… I am instructed by my superiors, to take a… _gentle _approach when it comes to his business. He has enough men to outfit an army and he has used them before. They are highly efficient and lethal. He runs several drug operations and mercenary outfits. He does business mainly in Citadel space, although we can't be sure how much actually goes out to the Terminus Systems. I have tracked his movements and he rarely leaves Japan anymore. The older he gets, the more paranoid he becomes. The other week he took down a major smuggling gang… wiped them almost completely out and then forced the remainder to join his ranks. He rules the underworld of Japan." Zaeed snorted,

"Sounds like he does your job for you." Matsuo studied him with her piercing eyes,

"What is it that you want from him? I assure you that you will not get it without a hefty price." Before Zaeed could respond and escalate the tension in the room, Shepard cut in,

"We're going to him for information on a missing person."

"Interesting. Who?" Shepard turned to Zaeed, with a questioning look. He glowered from his seat. The boyish part of him didn't want to give up information so easily when there was a profit to be made. The older man knew however, that in order to find out what kind of mess Exia was in, he would need the police database. He leaned forward,

"Exia Sinclair. Age 18. Was living in London in the Shakespeare quarter. She was last seen about a week ago." Matsuo nodded, typing the information into the police database. She looked up over the top of her monitor at Zaeed,

"What was her occupation?" Zaeed looked at the ground shamefully, _of all the talk and discussion about who she is and how much I care about her; I don't even know what she does for a living. _

"Honestly? I don't know…" Matsuo cut him off and projected the screen to show the group the files she had retrieved,

"Is this your girl?" There was a mug shot of a badly bruised Exia, hair a mess, a busted lip, and a swollen jaw. Zaeed responded slowly and angrily, why had she kept this life from him?

"Yeah, that's 'er." Shepard studied the picture closely, it was easy to see why Zaeed liked her so much, she was lively. You could see her eyes sparkling mischievously, as if she thought it was all a game and she had the winning hand you didn't know about. Even under all the wear and tear she was very striking, with her dark hair and olive skin. Matsuo spoke up reading her file off her monitor,

"Exia Botticelli. Age, 18. Height, 168 centimeters. Weight, 69 kilos. She looks like she could knock the teeth out of a turian. Race, Hispanic. Nationality… Not listed. Although I guess she was from Italy. Occupation… they don't have one listed, I'm guessing she worked under the table. Here's something of interest, _'has been arrested six different times on charges of aggravated assault and battery'_ two of those times were assault with a deadly weapon. It seems that she never went to actual prison, just stayed in jail until someone bailed her out. Most likely her employer." Both Zaeed and Matsuo spoke at the same time,

"It sounds like she was a ring fighter." Garrus finished the conclusion,

"Obviously the losing team pressed charges against her, when they didn't like how it turned out." Shepard nodded, familiar with how the fighting rings and boxing tournaments worked. Shepard wondered out loud,

"Are there any incidents listed as occurring around a week ago?" Matsuo nodded and scrolled through the file quickly, stopping when she came to the right timeframe. Her eyes quickly scanned back and forth, while the other three stared at the picture of the battered Exia. Matsuo took in a breath before beginning to speak,

"Here we go… a couple days ago there was a complaint received from her district involving one man beat to death and the other shot in the chest twice. They were known gang members, associated with a nasty german gang known as DAK. Tenants had complained of noise and disturbing the peace. Police didn't take any action; they were most likely paid off by a rival gang. This is the only piece we have and I think the boys were murdered by our girl." Zaeed nodded in agreement, while Shepard looked thoughtful, and Garrus was as usual, unreadable. Matsuo looked up from the text and looked at the three of them challengingly,

"If you want to find her, I will take you to Watanabe, on one condition… You take me with you. This is the opportunity that I need and I'm afraid I will never get another chance like it." Zaeed automatically began to refuse, he'd be damned before he joined ranks with a straight cop… they were too inquisitive and straight laced for their own goods. However he quickly shut his mouth when Shepard started to speak.

"As long as you're willing to go along with what has to be done. We are going deep into the core and you have to understand that you can't blow this opportunity… It's our only chance as well." Shepard's somber attitude reflected the general caution they all felt about handling the delicate matter of a sex slave in the hands of a paranoid delusionist. Matsuo spoke with equal gravity in her voice,

"I understand Shepard… Even though I may not agree with your reasoning all the time… I think I can cooperate long enough to get the job done." Garrus stood up,

"So it's settled. We go now." Six eyes turned to him in agreement. Matsuo grabbed her pistol and taser baton.

"First I need to change. I'll need to blend in with you better."

"I have a different plan for you. We make a deal to trade you for Exia." There was no mirth in his voice and no smile in his eyes. Matsuo looked at him shocked for a second, followed by dawning realization, she admitted albeit a little disgusted,

"Yes, that makes sense. I will go in deep that way and be able to recount firsthand what goes on behind those walls. What should I wear?" Zaeed looked thoughtful then responded,

"I guess whatever civvies you have. We can make it look like we just caught you." Matsuo responded, taking the lead,

"We'll head to my place first then I'll take you to Watanabe." They followed the small woman out of her office and into the never-ending throng of people that made up Tokyo.


End file.
